With a Little Help
by swaggiekat
Summary: AU. On occasion, good things can happen when you talk to strangers. Other times, you might end up with your very own sexy vampire stalker. Looks like Rosewood just got a little more... intense. Damon/Aria.


**a/n; **Err, hi. I'm terribly awkward and this is my first story, that being a crossover of Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars. I thought that Aria and Damon would be adorable together and that if anyone could fix him up a little bit, she'd be the one. I don't even know. I hope that you guys like it and I hope to get the next chapter up by the time that I get back from the beach! (:

**DISCLAIMER TIME; **You be trippin' if you think I own either of these wonderful television shows. If I did, things would be going a little bit differently.

* * *

Damon just wanted to get away from it all.

He'd fantasied about it for almost a year now, even come close to doing it before but lost his confidence at the very last second. If you'd ever talked to him, you'd know that confidence was pretty much his forte. It was odd for him, to be scared or something. He'd never really felt such a feeling before. His stupid brother went and turned him soft. _Elena turned him soft._

Damn it. He was always doing that, thinking about her. It was only people like him that got pissed off at the idea of being in love. He'd seen mortals in love before, taunted them about their emotions before he'd kill their lover and make them scream. He was still heartless, though he hadn't done anything like that for almost a year now, since Elena really was messing up his usual ways. Either way, he laughed at love, along with general human emotion. It just wasn't for him until he met this stupid girl, a stupid girl that also happened to be in love with his very own _brother._

If you'd asked Damon if he'd steal the love of Stefan's life about a year ago, he'd probably figure that you were joking or something. Of fucking course he'd still his brother's girl, without a second thought even. He'd been heartless, more openly so. He'd developed this terrible habit lately of pretending that he actually had feelings, something that was sadly tricking his brain into thinking that he actually cared about people. He didn't like caring about anything, especially things that lived and breathed and bled. He cared about Elena. He didn't even bother denying it before since it was painfully obvious to everyone. He might have even cared about his brother, even if it was just sometimes. It was only obvious that it all didn't make winning Elena's hear any easier.

As much as he hated to admit it, a part of him was glad that she'd gotten stuck with his lame-o brother. He wasn't any fun most of the time, all stern and serious. He would watch himself when he was close to her so that he didn't drink her blood and he'd rip his own heart out to protect her. While Damon knew that he was whipped enough to do the same thing, he didn't trust himself nearly as much as he trusted Stefan. If anything ever happened to Elena because of his own doing, he'd kill himself. Damon had no doubt in his mind about that.

You couldn't blame him for wondering if leaving Mystic Falls would just be for the better. He did nothing but get in the way of things, honestly. Not only but probably the biggest of all, he got in the way of Stefan and Elena. Neither of them deserved that. Most of their problems would just be gone if he went on his way and he knew that Elena would breathe a sigh of relief when she didn't have to deal with his advances anymore. She really did look at him in a way that made him hurt sometimes, like she absolutely loathed him and the very ground he walked on.

That's how Damon got to where he was, sitting on a plane to some place in Pennsylvania. Honestly, he hadn't even known that the state even existed before he'd decided that he was going to spend the rest of his life there. He'd definitely never heard of this place called Rosewood, either. It seemed innocent enough. If he tried his best, he could have a little fun while he was there, hopefully not enough fun to fuck anyone up too badly again. Despite what Elena thought, he did have a heart. It didn't beat, but it held love in there for only one special girl. He had the most annoying feeling that it would always be that way.

* * *

Aria just wanted to get away from it all.

She wanted to go with Ezra, more than she'd ever wanted anything before. She wished that she had his confidence, his ability to just hop on a plane and go nowhere in particular, searching for adventure. She remembered back when her parents were cool and they took her all over the world without question. Recently, they hadn't even let her leave the house. It wasn't fair. She wanted a life like Ezra. She wanted to _be _with Ezra.

They'd been together for what felt like forever, though she couldn't name the exact date. She prided herself on not being the kind of girl that fretted over anniversaries and such, but she did have a tendency to be a lot gigglier around Ezra. She just couldn't help it. He had that effect on her, the kind that made her feel a delightful combination of walking on sunshine and tripping on acid, as strange as it sounded. She just wanted to be with him at all times. It was the only thing that really made her happy lately.

She didn't care that she sounded clingy. Maybe if she sounded clingy enough, he wouldn't leave. She took back her thoughts almost as soon as they entered her mind. She would never do that to Ezra, since she loved him as much as she claimed. Rosewood made him feel trapped. It had a tendency to do that to everyone, but Ezra was the only one with the balls to actually get out. She was proud of him for that, beyond so. She hoped that he had fun in whatever foreign country he was visiting. Even though the thought brought tears to her eyes, she hoped that he found someone who made him happy. He deserved that. She deserved it, too.

They'd been in the same position for a whole ten minutes, just standing in the middle of the airport. His arms were wrapped around her waist, her head resting on his shoulder and mascara staining her cheeks. At this point, getting caught with her teacher boyfriend was the last thing on her mind. The only thought running through her head was that the love of her life was leaving on a plane. He'd find some pretty foreign girl, maybe a surfer from some beach country or even a belly dancer. He'd forget about that little girl he loved named Aria. Everyone that she knew had a tendency to do that.

"You know that I love you, Aria." He murmured into her hair, squeezing her a little tighter and still managing to make her heart beat a little faster.

"I love you, too." She smiled sadly, knowing that his flight was going to be departing any minute now, "I'm just glad that you get too escape this place. Sometimes I wish I could."

"You have no idea how much I'd love to take you with me."

The thought of exploring the world with her boyfriend was probably the most perfect thing she'd ever heard, but there was still that little problem with her parents and with A. Even though her parents had been getting on her nerves more and more lately, she couldn't just abandon them. They'd made their views on Ezra blatantly obvious and picking him over them would just smash their hearts into pieces. Plus, she'd never dream of leaving her friends alone to deal with A's wrath. While she sincerely hoped it wasn't true, she had the strangest feeling that A would somehow manage to follow her anywhere. She'd never escape it, not really. If A was ever discovered and sent to jail, she or he would still haunt her memories.

"And you have no idea how much I'd love to go." Aria sighed, finally managing to pull herself away and wipe away her running makeup. She looked horrible, but he still managed to look at her like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "I'll get my own adventure someday, but I still can't wait to hear all about yours. You better write!"

Ezra smiled that crooked little grin of his. He captured her heart with that smile. "Every day."

The flight attendant loudly announced that Ezra's plane was boarding, startling them both from their thoughts and making Aria's heart drop to her stomach.

"I guess this is goodbye, then." Aria said, her lips pressed together to hold back the sobs.

"Don't say goodbye. That'll only make this more real." Ezra responded, that pretty smile of his suddenly looking just a tad bit forced. They both knew that this farewell might not be forever, but it was going to last for a long time. He promised that he'd write and he would for a little, at least. Soon, the letters would start getting more and more spaced apart and then he'd just stopped responding at all. He'd be thoroughly swooning for some international beauty and she'd be stuck in Rosewood, occupied with thoughts of the man that no longer cared about her. She was destined to be lonely forever. She would have to just start accepting the fact, sooner or later.

Aria opened and closed her mouth but nothing but some strangled breath of air managed its way out. She chose to do something that spoke louder than words, rushing forward and pressing her lips against his. She tried to remember what every part of his mouth felt like, the sensations that shot through her body when she tangled her hands in his curls. It was the last kiss that she'd ever get from her soulmate and she was doing her best to enjoy it, even though she could taste the salt from her own tears and feel her knees quaking like jelly.

And then he was gone. Forever.

Aria had never felt more alone.


End file.
